The relational spaces of mentoring with young people 'at risk'

What is the political allure, value and currency of emotions within contemporary cultures of governance? What does it mean to govern more humanely? Since the emergence of an emotional turn in human geography over the last decade, the notion that our emotions matter in understanding an array of social practices, spatial formations and aspects of everyday life is no longer seen as controversial. This book brings recent developments in emotional geography into dialogue with social policy concerns and contemporary issues of governance. It sets the intellectual scene for research into the geographical dimensions of the emotionalized states of the citizen, policy maker and public service worker, and highlights new research on the emotional forms of governance which now characterise public life

‘It’s good but it’s not enough”: the relational geographies of social policy and youth mentoring interventions

Developing a critical analysis of the relational and situated practices of social policy, this paper draws on an evaluation of an early intervention project in Scotland (UK) where volunteer adult mentors supported young people ‘at risk’ of offending or anti-social behaviour. Contributing to ‘enlivened’ accounts of social practice, we explore how practices of mentoring developed through the co-presence of mentor and young person in the often transitory spaces of care which characterised the ‘diversionary activities’ approach in the project. We expand the notion of the relational in social practice beyond the care-recipient dyad to include wider networks of care (families, programme workers, social institutions). The paper explores how such social interventions might both be ‘good’ for the young people involved, and yet recognise critiques that more individualised models of intervention inevitably have limitations which make them ‘not enough’ to deal with structural inequalities and disadvantages. Acknowledging the impacts of neoliberalism, we argue critical attention to diverse situated relational practices points to the excessive nature of engagement in social policy and provides scope for transformative practice where young people’s geographies can be ‘upscaled’ to connect to the realms of social policy and practice

'It is like a tomato stall where someone can pick what he likes': structure and practices of female sex work in Kampala, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Effective interventions among female sex workers require a thorough knowledge of the context of local sex industries. We explore the organisation of female sex work in a low socio-economic setting in Kampala, Uganda. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study with 101 participants selected from an epidemiological cohort of 1027 women at high risk of HIV in Kampala. Repeat in-depth life history and work practice interviews were conducted from March 2010 to June 2011. Context specific factors of female sex workers' day-to-day lives were captured. Reported themes were identified and categorised inductively. RESULTS: Of the 101 women, 58 were active self-identified sex workers operating in different locations within the area of study and nine had quit sex work. This paper focuses on these 67 women who gave information about their involvement in sex work. The majority had not gone beyond primary level of education and all had at least one child. Thirty one voluntarily disclosed that they were HIV-positive. Common sex work locations were streets/roadsides, bars and night clubs. Typically sex occurred in lodges near bars/night clubs, dark alleyways or car parking lots. Overall, women experienced sex work-related challenges at their work locations but these were more apparent in outdoor settings. These settings exposed women to violence, visibility to police, a stigmatising public as well as competition for clients, while bars provided some protection from these challenges. Older sex workers tended to prefer bars while the younger ones were mostly based on the streets. Alcohol consumption was a feature in all locations and women said it gave them courage and helped them to withstand the night chill. Condom use was determined by clients' willingness, a woman's level of sobriety or price offered. CONCLUSIONS: Sex work operates across a variety of locations in the study area in Kampala, with each presenting different strategies and challenges for those operating there. Risky practices are present in all locations although they are higher on the streets compared to other locations. Location specific interventions are required to address the complex challenges in sex work environments

‘An elephant cannot fail to carry its own ivory’: Transgenerational ambivalence, infrastructure and sibling support practices in urban Uganda

This article examines how urban Ugandans navigate family support systems through a focus on the under-researched area of sibling care practices. We conceptualise such systems as transgenerational infrastructure to capture the complex flows, negotiations and dilemmas of both inter- and intra-generational relationships, orderings and power, situating family support practices within their spatial, structural and social contexts. Drawing on grounded narratives of lived experience collected in Jinja, Uganda, the article offers an alternative interpretation to what is commonly portrayed as a weakening of family support systems in sub-Saharan Africa. We develop a transgenerational ambivalence perspective which allows for a deeper understanding of the heterogeneity and fluidity of family support as an ethical practice replete with complex emotions and dilemmas shaped in the junctures between social norms, agency, resources and material conditions. Through focusing on working-age Ugandans, we demonstrate the potential for a transgenerational ambivalence approach to make visible contradictions at structural and subjective levels and focus greater attention on the importance of sibling relationships and birth order than is evident in the existing intergenerational literature. This can help researchers in the task of linking family dynamics to the growing precarity and uncertainties of life in the marginal socio-economic contexts of urban sub-Saharan Africa

‘Where we stayed was very bad …’: migrant children’s perspectives on life in informal rented accommodation in two southern African cities

Most research and initiatives relating to children's experiences of urban space have focused on the physical environment. Housing policies in Third World countries have also emphas- ised the provision of physical infrastructure and buildings, and urban aesthetics. In this paper the authors draw on the voices of young informants from Maseru (Lesotho), and Blantyre (Malawi), who, in discussions concerning moving house, chose to talk about social and economic aspects of life in the informal sector rented accommodation that is increasingly characteristic of these and many other African cities. The children offer insight into the peopling of urban space, mapping unruly environments characterised by disorder, gossip, and social contestation, far removed from the hard technocratic spaces imagined by planners. Their observations are important not only because children represent a very large and relatively neglected proportion of African urban dwellers but also because they offer a unique insight into the dynamic character of urban environments. As close observers of adult decisionmaking processes, children are informed commentators on motivations for moving house as well as the impacts of urban environments on their own lives. Not only do the children highlight the inadequacies of the informal private rental sector but they also offer a window onto why it is inadequate

2021 Update of the International Council for Standardization in Haematology Recommendations for Laboratory Measurement of Direct Oral Anticoagulants

International audienceIn 2018, the International Council for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH) published a consensus document providing guidance for laboratories on measuring direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Since that publication, several significant changes related to DOACs have occurred, including the approval of a new DOAC by the Food and Drug Administration, betrixaban, and a specific DOAC reversal agent intended for use when the reversal of anticoagulation with apixaban or rivaroxaban is needed due to life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding, andexanet alfa. In addition, this ICSH Working Party recognized areas where additional information was warranted, including patient population considerations and updates in point-of-care testing. The information in this manuscript supplements our previous ICSH DOAC laboratory guidance document. The recommendations provided are based on (1) information from peer-reviewed publications about laboratory measurement of DOACs, (2) contributing author's personal experience/expert opinion and (3) good laboratory practice

Street-connectedness and education in Kenya: Experiences of formal schooling as rationale for inclusive pedagogies of practice

This paper contributes to the literature on street-connectedness and inclusive education, presenting original research findings from two Kenyan studies aiming to understand street-connected young people’s experiences of education. The first focused on transitioning from the street into education or training to explore the challenges of making that transition. The second, on young people who had lived on the street for extended periods of time and were still there at the time of data generation. From these studies, significant understandings emerged concerning: a) education as motivating initial migrations to the street; b) the role of fear, embarrassment and shame in preventing young people going (back) into formal education; and c) how acceptance and support are key to overcoming feelings of not belonging and challenges faced when transitioning from the street into schools. The paper provides empirical evidence that should be considered when planning inclusive education provision for street-connected young people globally

Young ghosts: ethical and methodological issues of historical research in children's geographies

This paper was published in the journal, Children's Geographies [© Taylor & Francis] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2012.693838Geographers researching children and young people have often been at the forefront of disciplinary debates in geography surrounding methodological practice and ethical considerations (Matthews et al. 1998, Valentine 1999, Pain 2004, Hemming 2008, Hopkins and Bell 2008, van Blerk and Barker 2008). In this short paper, I want to focus on a less-popular research method used by children’s geographers – archival methods (cf. Gagen 2000, 2001) – and reflect specifically on some of its methodological and ethical challenges. I argue that thinking about historical research can challenge children’s geographers to consider other types of encounter from that of the (embodied) encounter between a researcher and a child (Horton 2008). These different and multiple encounters include those between the (adult) creator of ‘material’ and a young person, a young person (as creator) and their intended audience, and the further encounter between a young person from the past and a present-day researcher during fieldwork. The spatial and temporal deferral in some of these encounters suggests a re-thinking of how we approach and conceptualise research ‘with’ young people. Furthermore, these (dis)embodied encounters can challenge ethical norms in children’s geographies such as consent, confidentiality and positionality in different but overlapping ways. I contend that children’s geographers are well versed in these ethical issues, some of which transfer well into the practice of historical research. For example, issues surrounding children’s ‘voice’ and responsibility are quite similar (as I later discuss), but there is a difference between contemporary and historical research in terms of the media involved (your own tape recordings or someone else’s recorded tapes; fresh participatory artwork or dust-covered diaries) and a different retrieval process (direct embodied research with young people or deferred connections in another building, time and place)